KUPWARA, AUGUST 7: District Administration Kupwara and Tourism Department today organized a vibrant Mega Bangus Mela in the lush green meadows of Bangus Valley in Kupwara district. The Mela was inaugurated by Deputy Commissioner Kupwara, Khalid Jahangir and Director Tourism Kashmir, G. N. Itoo. Commander 7 Sector RR, Vikrant Patel, ADC Kupwara, Ghulam Nabi Bhat; DDC Rajwar, Sulimam Mir, BDC Chairperson Zachaldara, CEO Kupwara, District Officers, besides, students and a large number of people were present on the occasion. Speaking at the occasion, the Deputy Commissioner appreciated the joint efforts of Tourism Department, Civil Administration and Army for conducting such a vibrant and festive looking Mega Bangus Mela. He said it will be a regular feature to promote and publicise the Bangus Valley and other tourist destinations of Kupwara district to boost the tourism potential of the unexplored destinations adding that tourism will generate the livelihood of the local people as it is an employment intensive activity. Referring to road connectivity, the DC said that the Virgin Bangus valley have been now connected from all the 3 sides from TP, Nowgam and Drangyari. He added that being a higher altitude destination, challenges are coming in the way of construction of roads but the work is going on in full swing and in coming days you will see a huge change on developmental lines. Director Tourism also spoke and highlighted the measures taken up by the Tourism Department in promoting the unexplored virgin tourist destinations of the Kupwara district. He said that Bangus is a success story which saw a good response of both local and National tourists in recent years adding that the virgin valley has registered a healthy tourist foothfall this year, thanks to the joint efforts of District Administration, Tourism department and other stakeholders for bringing the valley on tourism map. He added that the eco-tourism activities in the valley will be promoted by the department in coming days adding that homestays have been already promoted by the Government in these far off destinations. The Director also informed that the Tourism department is going to conduct Lolab Warnow festival which will help in promoting the beautiful Lolab Valley. During the Mela, various participants including artists, school children and pony walas enthralled the audience with their best performances in different segments of the programme. The programmes presented include Salami on Horses, Folk Songs, Kashmiri Rowf, Horse Racing, Tug of War, Log Cutting competition and Patriotic Songs by school children. Later, the winners of the competions were felicitated for showing their best performances during the day long Bangus Mela. During the programme, the official website of the Bangus Valley (http://bangusvalley.com) was launched by the dignitaries, besides, Special Cover on Bangus Valley was also released. Later, the DC Kupwara, Director Tourism and other officers inspected various activities and stalls installed by Agriculture department, Horticulture, Bangus Valley Tribal Welfare Trust and other local stalls displaying staple foods and handicrafts. The Deputy Commissioner appreciated the stall owners and emphasized the need for promoting local Culture, Food and Handicrafts.
